He tapped to pick up the call. “Task Force 99, we aim to please.”
A brief pause, then Mary Pat’s voice came over the line three-by-three—not loud or clear, but a usable connection. “Hello, John,” she said.
“How did I suddenly get a signal?”
“We worked some magic through an E-2D Hawkeye—it’s about a hundred miles north of your position. What’s your status?”
“We’re loaded up and about to take off in the Ilyushin transport. We’re trying to beat the storm out.”
“Why not the Gulfstream?”
“Ah…unfortunately for the taxpayers, I’m going to have to expense that one. The Ilyushin crew survived that drone swarm you sent in—very impressive, by the way. The Gulfstream’s copilot, Sesniak, is going to double-check the crew’s navigation to make sure we don’t end up in Minsk.”
“Where are you actually going?”
“I figured Sigonella is pretty close. Can you let them know we’re on the way?”
“Will do. What’s the latest on injuries?”
In his earlier message, Clark had explained they had one man in critical condition. He imparted the bad news, which he himself had only gotten ten minutes ago. “We lost a man—Hooper, the Gulfstream’s skipper. He took a round to the chest, and we couldn’t save him.”
“Damn, I’m sorry.”
“We’ll bring him home. There are a couple of other injuries, but nothing serious.”
“We received the information you sent. It looks good and we’ve got a four-ship of fighters trying to intervene.”
“They’d better hurry. It’s getting close to dawn in the target area.”
“We’re aware of that. I do have one additional request.”
“A question for Gamling?”
“No, there’s no time and you’ve already given us the most important information. Of course, we will interview him properly when the time comes. I’m calling about something else you sent…the picture of Malenkov’s phone log.”
“One of the numbers get a hit?”
“We haven’t been able to run them. I was actually thinking about the phone itself. Now that we have a data connection, it might present a more…comprehensive opportunity. Do you still have the handset?”
“Sure, I’ve got it in my vest.”
“Turn it on, then set it down next to your agency phone.”
He tore open a Velcroed pocket and removed the handset. “Okay, both are on, and they’re side by side. Anything else?”
“Give us a minute.”
He heard Mary Pat give instructions to a technician.
Soon both phones displayed a spinning data wheel. Clark said, “I see activity on both phones. Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”
“It’s a new application built into our higher-end devices.”
“Remind me to not leave it next to my own phone.”
He heard one of the Ilyushin’s engines spinning up.
After roughly a minute, Mary Pat said, “All right, I think we have what we need. Unless something critical comes up, we’ll talk again when you get to Sig.”
